Art Week 2014

First Art Week presents series of exhibits, performances, workshops, artist talks

By Katrina Staaf /// Arts Editor

As we cheerfully embark upon our last full week of classes, a celebration of art will conveniently infiltrate the Lewis & Clark campus. April 21st marks the beginning of the first Art Week, a series of events that are both exhibitionary and educational. Considering LC’s penchant for hosting symposia and attracting artistically inclined students, one may be surprised by the college’s previous lack of such an event series.

Deriving inspiration from Reed College’s Art Week and from a multipurpose arts space in Glasgow, Scotland, co-founders Maddie Foy (‘14) and Rachel Wolfson (‘14) felt compelled to fill a noticeable void. “Our vision was to create a participatory space for contemporary art practices,” Foy explained. Foy and Wolfson were set on witnessing the first LC Art Week before graduating. The first official planning meeting took place near the end of last semester.

Despite its recent beginnings, Art Week boasts a schedule as diverse and expansive as that of a well-established festival. It offers student artists the opportunity to share their work and processes with interested peers while also facilitating scholarly interaction between students and innovative contemporary artists. Performance pieces (theatrical and musical) and workshops will uphold Art Week’s hallmarks of exhibition and education, though will also provide a sense of accessibility. Whereas students involved with Art Week hail from various academic departments, the week’s events aim to be welcoming and inclusive of the entire LC community. As much as Art Week hopes to engage those who are already interested in artistic expression, it aspires to entice individuals who may not typically attend arts events.

Perhaps above all else, Art Week intends to unify members of the LC community while locally and globally linking the college to new media art practices. Attendees of this premier edition of Art Week will likely gain an understanding of art’s potential to transform and enliven basic campus spaces. But at the very least, they will witness history in the making.

Katrina Staaf enjoys engaging in and writing about various forms of artistic expression. She is arts editor of the Pioneer Log and editor-in-chief of The Umbrella. Katrina also contributes diverse content to the website of Lewis & Clark College, with one of her pieces having been featured in the college’s Chronicle Magazine.